


She Walks In Beauty

by LeafontheWinf2



Series: Amor Vincit Omina:Love Conquers All Things [2]
Category: James Bond (Craig movies), James Bond (Movies), Skyfall (2012) - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, BAMF Q, Crusades, Dark Fantasy, F/M, Fairy Tale Elements, Fem Q, Knight Bond, Middle Ages, Middle East, Politics, Q becoming Q
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-18
Updated: 2014-05-18
Packaged: 2018-01-25 13:52:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,995
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1650947
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LeafontheWinf2/pseuds/LeafontheWinf2
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Crusader James Bond of Skyfall has fallen into regards with a mysterious woman in the city of Aldura. Even as he tried to protect her, she manages to place herself in even more danger. </p><p>When the world is falling apart, where do you turn for the truth? </p><p>Fairytale story telling.</p>
            </blockquote>





	She Walks In Beauty

**Author's Note:**

> The inspiration came from Lord Byron's poem She Walks in Beauty. It is written about his mourning cousin at a funeral, and all I could imagine was Bond watching a mourning Q and recognizing the beauty. 
> 
> This is a historic based AU. As a history major, I have a serious problem. The first work in the series sets up the politics of this world, and I love this AU so much I expanded it. 
> 
> The Church of the Sun is spreading it's reach, it is on the verge of collapse. Its first crusade to the Holy Lands succeeded, but dissent is growing. 
> 
> Bond and Q are in what historically was the Principality of Antioch before the Second Crusade. Bond, a disillusioned Crusader, is struggling to protect Q as she fights against the Church of the Sun. These are their adventures.

George Gordon, Lord Byron (1788-1824)  
She Walks in Beauty

1   
She walks in beauty, like the night   
Of cloudless climes and starry skies;   
And all that's best of dark and bright   
Meet in her aspect and her eyes:   
Thus mellowed to that tender light   
Which heaven to gaudy day denies.   
2   
One shade the more, one ray the less,   
Had half impaired the nameless grace   
Which waves in every raven tress,   
Or softly lightens o'er her face;   
Where thoughts serenely sweet express,   
How pure, how dear their dwelling-place.   
3   
And on that cheek, and o'er that brow,   
So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,   
The smiles that win, the tints that glow,   
But tell of days in goodness spent,   
A mind at peace with all below,   
A heart whose love is innocent!

 

The heat of the day was hazy and warm, dust swirling desperatly around the people as they meandered through the streets. Tired dirt stained faces gazed out from beneath dark hoods and turbans as they meandered through the tightly packed streets. The great city of Aludra was a powder keg just waiting to explode. 

The once proud city sat inside the broken remains of the Assim Principlaity, a portion of the once great Kurush Empire that had fallen to neglect and destruction. It had begun with a calling from the Church of the Sun, to spread the word of the Sun God to the savages of the east. It had turned into a long and brutal war that they eventually won. Now, the people were scattered and held under the thumb of the remaining soldiers of the Church and the various kingdoms they managed to get to join their war. 

One such knight was posted outside of the remains of a holy temple the people had. They worshiped a goddess known as Sepira, bowed and scraped to their goddess of harvest and rains. The knight watched as his brothers in arms had looted the temple, sneered and laughed at the pale face stricken people who watched the destruction. Even worse was when the Church had mounted the flags to the Sun God and painted over the ancient writing in an effort to destroy the people's connection to their goddess. Not to mention they were not allowed to say the name of their goddess anymore, if they did they would be killed.

For Knight of the Realm Bond, it was ridiculous. Standing there in his dust stained armor, Bond was tired and hot in the desert heat. He hated being in this country, hated having to stand around and watch terrified locals who hated the very sight of him. It was not why he had become a knight of Bauldry all those years ago, he had been young and idealistic hoping to protect the weak and poor.

Now, Bond was the oppressor, the very thing he had wished to avoid. And he hated it, all he wanted was to return to Skyfall Manor and never leave again. The queen of Bauldry would understand when he returned, she had not wanted any of her knights to leave in the first place. Bond couldn't wait to tell her how horrible it was.

"You're looking hot today," a soft cultured voice said sweetly. Bond could not do anything but offer the young woman standing in front of him a minuscule smile. She was young, barely more than a child, yet she stood before him defiant and proud. 

Qamara, the beauty of Aldura, the young widow of an Alduran lord who had fallen in battle to the invading forces. Her hands was pale for the people of the town, whispers from the knights said she had come from Byzaria to this land. Her hair and eyes were covered by her mourning veil, but a Bond imagined her to be a beauty. Her long mourning dress clung to her curves, the silver designs adding to her beauty as she moved in the black fabric. Held in her hands was a bunch of wildflowers that she clasped to her chest. 

"I am standing in the middle of the desert," Bond told her delighting in the grin he could see through the veil, "Of course I look hot."

She was the reason he was still here. Beautiful Qamara, who knights and lords lusted after with greedy eyes. No man had seen her unveiled, she was the hidden fruit that tempted the soldiers of the Church. Bond was her unofficial protector, he was what stood before her and some upstart lord getting into his head to force himself on the young widow. 

"You may be cooler back in your land," Qamara announced gliding past him into the temple, "Whenever you people decide to leave." 

And of course, she hated him. Him and every other soldier of the Sun who held her city in occupation. It was understandable, Bond would hate anyone who did that to him and his people. "And what buisness do you have inside the Church today?" He asked her, hating himself for having to ask the question to her everyday she came by.

"I am here to pray for guidance because barbarians have taken my city for their own," there it was, the contempt dripped from her tongue and weighed heavily upon his soul. "Is it now illegal for me to pay my respects to my dead husband?" 

"No, be welcome in the House of the Sun," Bond said opening the door for her and allowing Qamara to glide in. She was as graceful as a queen, sinking to her knees before the altar of the Sun God and laying the flowers at his feet, as she did every day. It was strange that a woman who hated them so much would pray to their god, but Bond was just thankful to see her each day as she passed him by. 

He held the door as she left, head held high, silk dress and veil rippling in the desert sun. A wiff of jasmine hit Bond, not doubt Qamara's perfume. It was as exotic and beautiful as her. The rest of the day passed in an uneventful haze, Bond standing by as people skirted around him with terrified eyes. Mothers hid their children from him, husbands their wives. The Knight was the monster who would devour anyone naughty children, the very real source of nightmares. 

At the end of the day, Bond returned to his barracks. The same way he had for the last three years. He settled into his bunk with a tired sigh, glad to be wearing linen pants and shirt as his armor waited in the corner. The other knights were spread around joking and laughing in the cool air of the evening. 

Bond thought of his true brothers in arms back in his homeland. Alec was watching his lands for him, and in reality that meant Lady Monneypenny was actually caring for his estate while Aled got into trouble. He wished he could return back home, away from this desert of hopeless people and greedy knights. 

The baracks were too heavy, the air charged with failure. Bond was up and moving before he knew it, he was slumped on the edge of a fountain head held in his hands. What was he doing here? Two years of life wasted patrolling this barren city that was once beautiful and thriving, another four fighting a desperate war. Six years of his life wasted on a pointless crusade that acomplished nothing. 

"Knight Bond. I was not expecting to see you here."

Bond looked up at the cool familiar voice washed over his ears. It was invigorating, like a drink of cool water after a week of intense heat. Qamara stood before him, heavy dress and veil covering her as she sunk down to kneel before him not caring about the dirt or dust on her skirt. 

"You look tired," she said gently, reaching out and taking his hand in hers. How strange, his scared beaten hands cradeled in pale dainty ones, soft as lily petals. 

"It's nothing," Bond reassured her, absently wondering why she was being so kind to him after her years of disdain, "I get plenty of sleep." 

Qamara let out a laugh, a single star shining in the bleak desert night. "That is not what I meant. You sleep enough no doubt," Qamara told him frankly, "But when did your soul last rest? I doubt it has been any time recently. The Church weighs heavily on you, they pull you deeper into darkness with every cruel action they attempt. How many have you killed in the name of your God?"

Bond just stared back, mouth a hard line. It did not matter if he agreed with her, it was not safe for Qamara to say such things. Anyone could over hear her, and nothing Bond did would protect her then. 

Bond had the distinct impression Qamara was smiling at him from under her veil. "You don't have to say anything. I know you are not like other soldiers. I know Sepira is watching over you, she cares for the righteous."

Shock crested over him like a black wave, drowning Bond as he gazed desperatly at Qamara. Did she not know what she had said, what she was doing? It was illegal to state that name and here Qamara sat saying it outside where anyone could hear her. Desperatly Bond clutched her shoulders, those delicate shoulders under killer hands. "Why would you say that here?" He hissed, "They will kill you if they hear! Nothing I do can protect you if they hear you! Have you no care for your own life!"

"This isn't living!" Qamara hissed back, desperation coloring her voice. That beautiful voice, thick with frustrated tears, "We hide behind these walls, bowing and scraping to invaders who desk rate out temples and destroy our goddess! I can't even say her name without fear of death! This is not a life Bond!"

She took a desperate breath, clinging to his forearms like a life line. "I can't continue to live this way. I won't."

They were silent for a long time after that, before parting ways for the night. Their lives continued normally day after day. Bond guarding the temple, Qamara entering with her disdain and flowers. But in the evening they met by the fountain, sharing whispers of their lives.

Qamara told of her past. She had been born into poverty, an orphan whose beauty attracted a rich husband who wed her while she was still a child. He was kind, did not take advantage of a young woman under his care. Qamara was educated, she learned languages and mathematics with a passion. She became the intellectual star of the elite in Aldura. Qamara did not worship Sepira blindly, she admitted. She respected a goddess who preached tolerance and that all life was sacred. 

In return Bond told her of himself. His parents tragic death when he was a boy, his struggle to achieve knighthood. He told her how he wanted to protect people, how the crusade had broken that view. Bond spoke of Alec, and Moneypenny back home, of his queen who was a hard woman, but a fair one. How lonely Skyfall Manor was after his wife, Vesper, died of illness eight long years before. 

They did not seem similar at first glance, a crusader and a Alduran woman. But they were lonely and broken widows of war and disease who found comfort spending their time together. They were more similar than they cared to admit. Together their unlikely friendship helped them pull through the long and difficult years together. It held them together for a year.

Until one day it fell apart. 

Qamara did not come to the temple one day. Or any day over the following week. Bond did not see her walking through town with flowers in her arms. It was like she disapeared. The. He heard the rumors.

"The Father wanted her in his bed," one of the younger knights told him, "She refused. The next day, she was arrested for worshiping the pagan gods." 

The truth came out over the next couple of weeks. Every day, Qamara would walk into the temple. She would place down flowers that were the traditional in prayer for Sapira. The designs on her clothes were prayers to Sapira. Each day she whispered prayers to the godess at the feet of the Sun God and had done so for nearly three years before she was caught. 

It meant she would be out to death in a weeks time for worshiping a pagan god. And there was nothing Bond could do to save her. 

He fell into despair, one so dark and black it was like when he mourned for Vesper all those years ago. Without even noticing it, he had fallen in love with Qamara. And now she would die. 

Aldura grew restless, the people whispering about their widow soon to be killed for worshiping their godess. Angry murmurs about the cruelty of the oppressors spread as rumors of uprisings throughout the land became all anyone spoke of. Anger was growing, the once listless people stirring as their sign of hope was being taken from them. It became even worse when the news surfaced that Qamara was dead. She had poisoned herself. Her cell. 

And with her death, Bond lost all reason to remain. He packed his bags, and charted a ship to drop him in Bauldry before leaving the barracks behind for the last time. On his way to the docks Bond bought a small bouquet of flowers, the same flowers Qamara had died for. He got in the boat, and watched bleakly as Aldura grew small on the coast as he sailed away from it. Bond had gone there content that the Sun God was on his side. He was leaving with a broken heart, Qamara no doubt cold and buried in the ground. A bright beautiful life, destroyed by fools who would never see the wor of the life they had ruined.

A wry smile crossed Bond's face as his hands clenched around the flowers. He did not move, barely listened to the soldiers running around him and swinging from the ratlines. Bond couldn't even bring himself to care as a pair of footsteps came to a stop directly behind him. 

"I suggest you move along," he growled out, voice rough after days of not speaking as he mourned. 

The person behind him moved closer, and Bond could suddenly smell jasmine in the air. 

"You seem tired Sir Bond," a familiar voice poured over him like the sweetest of drinks, "I take it Aldura did not agree with you?"

Bond couldn't help the bark of laughter that left him. "I couldn't stay once a close friend died. Without her, I realized that I was not truly living and could not go on in this way."

"Then it's a good thing your friend is still alive." And the Qamara was stepping in front of him. She wore loose breeches and a simple linen shirt, so different than her silk Bond had always seen her in. Vibrant green eyes twinkled up at Bond from behind delicate glasses, as a delighted smile crossed her rose colored lips. Black curls tumbled around her shoulders, fluttering in the sea air. Qamara offered a delighted smile.

"How are you alive?" Bond demanded, taking her hand in his.

Qamara shrugged, a sly grin twisting her face. "I may or may not have drugged the guard in front of my cell's wine and stolen his keys. Then I disguised myself as a beggar and spread the rumor about the poison. I would have told me, believe me Bond, but it was too dangerous for us to be potentially seen together. The moment I could I came to find you."

"I believe you," Bond murmured running a battle scared hand through her unruly curls, "What will you do now?"

Qamara shrugged. "I don't know. I have a new life ahead of me. I can be anyone I want, go anywhere I want. The entire world is open to me."

Bond wrapped an arm around her waist, tugging her close. "If you want, the position of Lady of Skyfall is open. If you are willing to be seen by my side that is."

Qamara raised an eyebrow at him, "My good Knight, that is the most pathetic proposal I have ever heard. Lucky for you, we have several months before returning to your land for you to make up a better story, one that is more worthy of my acceptance."

Bond let out a low chuckle, "I will endeavor to do so. Right now, I wonder what my new wife is called now that she has a new life ahead."

A smile crossed her face as she curled closer to Bond. "Call me Q."

"Q," Bond breathed, a desperate whisper like a faithful man whispering a saints name, "Call me James, Q."

Her smile became more gentle. Q leaned in closer, standing on her toes as a delicate hand gently caressed Bond's face. "James," she murmured, "A good name for a righteous man."

The ocean churned on, moving a small boat across the sea back to the lands it had come from. A land of foggy moors, green hills, gem like lakes, and heavy rains, so different than the craggy mountains and harsh deserts as the land left behind it. The wind whipped the waves into the air, rainbows glittering in the spary. On the deck of the ship, a couple shared their first kiss pressed together intertwined forever more.

The most unlikely of pairings, a Crusader and a Woman of the Book. They should not have made it, but somehow they did. Becuase when a person has nothing to reach for on earth, they must reach for the stars. And every now and then, the starts reach back.

**Author's Note:**

> If anyone is interested, I am willing to do a second chapter that is Q and Bond returning to Skyfall. If you enjoyed this, check out the first part of the series. The reason this is so brief is because that one is an epic now, and I can not do two of those and college. 
> 
> Hopefully, I can expand on this story. And I hope everyone likes it.


End file.
